Papa Bear Pizza — Restaurant in Colorado

We were excited to try Papa Bear Pizza, having just moved here from the south end of Denver where there are a number of good pizza places. And the 4.8 star average was a good sign, and they have a wide variety of interesting options. Important to note they are only open Th - Sun, 4 - 8.

We were a bit disappointed. First, you must call ahead to order for pickup only, there's no online ordering process. They asked when we'd like to pickup and we thought an hour lead time would be sufficient. At 4:40pm, that would have made it 5:40pm. We were told 5:45 was taken, and the earliest would be 6pm. So why ask when we'd like to pick up? Not a big deal, obviously they are busy.

We ordered the 5 points (5 kinds of cheese, $22) and the 1876, $26, which is a good mix of meat and veggies. The web site boasts of superior dough, sauces and toppings. We found the crust to be nicely firm on the bottom, but a bit hard and crunchy on the edges. Not much "elastic chewiness" as promised. The 5 Points was a nice mix of cheeses not always found on pizza. We'd give it a 4. The 1876 had huge pieces of slightly spicy pepperoni, but the rest of the toppings were a bit light. We did get the occassional bite of a nice pepper or onion, but the mushrooms and black olives were scarce.

"If value means more to you than quality we are probably not the shop for you." Challenging (Insulting) your customer is not usually a great marketing strategy, and if you're going to have page after page on your web site boasting how superior your product is to all other pizza shops, you better come through. We're pretty picky pizza people, and definitely appreciate superior quality, but we were not blown away. It was not as good as at least one other pizza place we frequent in Monument (that's open all week), but we'll give it another try.

Value is ALWAYS an important factor in this day and age and at $52 for two 14" pizzas it's a bit more costly than other shops. If the pizza was amazing, it wouldn't be a problem,...

The best pizza pie I've ever had in my life, except for the pizza I had from Papa Bear pizza the week before, and the one I had the week before that. This isn't fast-food pizza, this is high-quality food. They go to great lengths other companies simply won't do or can't do, which is what makes their pies so darn good.

A cold-rise dough means 12 hours beforehand... wait, they open late afternoon, that's 3 a.m. in the morning they are making dough! Something else about their crust, it's better the second time around (we usually get two meals for two for each pie). Be sure at home to let the air in the oven circulate around the pizza (aka, put it directly on the grate - I usually have tinfoil on the lower grade to catch any ingredients that may jump ship.

Here's a telling story. My wife and I have been eating pizza for our entire lives. And one thing that's common, we always left the crust. For whatever reason, whether fast food pizza or frozen, we always left the crust... With Papa Bear Pizza, the crust is one of the best parts. We've had no less than 20 of their pies and not one slice or piece of crust has gone to waste! That's saying something.

Also, who in their right mind would slice the Soppressata dry salami and peperoni 7 minutes before the pizza is served? The pizza is half cooked at that point. Why not just slice it all at once for the whole day? Why 7 minutes before serving, how about 8 or 6. Because it is fresher and taste better. I will attest to this wholeheartedly.

If you're wanting to feed the high school football team, go to a fast food joint. But if you want excellent pizza that's even better then next day. Call Papa Bear Pizza in Monument!

By the way, our favorite, hands down, the...

My wife and I moved to Monument from Chicago almost a year ago. That being said, we have been fairly spoiled with quality pizza pretty much for our entire lives. We have been to a few good places for pizza (Duca’s and Bella Panini) but after hiking Spruce Mountain we tried to get into Bella and just couldn’t wait 40 minutes so we drove up and tried a relatively new place in Monument called Papa Bear Pizza. The atmosphere was wonderful, we ate on the outdoor patio and we were fortunate to be there on a evening when they had a couple singer/guitar players (Ryan Young was exceptional). Anyway, the place is owned and operated by a husband and wife team (Nicolas and Charlie). They were eager to please and when I explained to them where I was from they new I was challenging them. I had hard good things about them but had not yet been there. We ordered the Hawaiian and a Boulder Pizza and we were overjoyed at the quality and taste. They make everything from scratch. The crust was delicious and the sauce phenomenal. After dining they were legitimately interested in our experience. I told them that not only was their pizza the best we’ve had in Colorado it was better than our favorite places back home in Chicago. Outstanding!! Can’t wait to go back and try some of their other specialty za’s!! They even said if you call the day before they can make pizza to your specific specifications. One gentleman was kind enough to show me his pizza he was taking home. It was topped with filet mignon, truffles and potatoes and garlic infused. He was lucky I over did it on my za’s or I may have scarfed some of his down too. Thanks for the awesome pizza. We will be back with family and...